Water Recycling and Good Vibrations at St. Vincent de Paul

When Kyleigh Brown and I started Circular Earth to be sustainability partners for small businesses, we had no idea where it might lead. We had bright eyes and hope—that was about it. Nearly two years later, that four-letter word manifested into another impact-project success: waste turned into growth, young people creating lasting change, and the pure joy of the process.

Circular Earth partnered with the Mesa Youth Climate Action Fund, GreenLight Solutions, and St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) to turn this vision into reality. SVdP Mesa Dining Hall and Urban Farm feeds folks experiencing homelessness every day of the year. The Farm provides the freshest and most nutritious fruits and vegetables to the Dining Hall.

There are as many services here as smiling faces—career resources, clothing, prayer, and a space to cool down in the summer heat. Services even include a shower trailer with towels and soap.This is where we come in.

Instead of running into the sewer, water from roughly 100 showers a week provided for homeless patrons is filtered and reused to irrigate a small oasis. Our grey-water system turns shower runoff into apricot blossoms and pumpkin vine leaves bigger than your head. Each year, the system will divert about 83,000 gallons of water, saving roughly $662—enough to help provide 133 meals for SVdP’s homeless clientele. Built to run for six years with minimal maintenance, the filter system isn’t a temporary solution; it’s a quiet, durable commitment to using resources wisely so more can be spent on people.

​Additionally, behind the showers in a once-neglected corner, we built a Green Space zen-style garden. Features include a reclaimed-wood pergola, lily planters as bookends, a solar-powered Buddha water feature, and a 100% recycled-plastic bench that will last a lifetime. It’s a place where guests can sit, breathe, and soak in the peace of nature.

​SVdP Mesa Dining Hall and Urban Farm have a way of making stories like these happen. It’s blooming with flowers, exotic plants, good vibrations, and even hosts a river-stone shrine of St. Francis of Assisi. Ka-Linda will send you home with fresh goodies—figs, cucumbers, chard, peppers—if you get lucky. Insider tip: volunteering is the best way to enjoy the urban farm. We couldn’t have executed this project without the whole team. Thank you to everyone—from our faithful handymen Gregory and Akil, to our accountant Brandon Hopton provided by GreenLight Solutions, to Jim Dilettoso, a sound-garden expert and a new friend, and a special thank-you to Orlando, SVdP’s go-to plumber who answered the call, whose quiet contribution was the key to our success. Creative minds, generous hearts, and persistence came together to serve the community through a sustainability initiative—for years to come. Together, we’re far greater than the sum of our parts.

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Tim Whitney Jr.
​Timothy Whitney Jr. is a strategic doer creating global and local impact. He's a Sustainability Analyst for Ace Computers and a co-founder and lead consultant of Circular Earth. He specializes in tech supply chains and small business eco-efficiency. Timothy’s sustainability story began in nature on the trail to becoming an Eagle Scout.